Wishing You a Very Grape New Year

Put down your champagne flute! Though you may want to gulp down the bubbly and lean in for a celebratory kiss at the stroke of midnight, there are more important matters at hand: the eating of the 12 grapes.

The tradition of eating 12 grapes at the start of the hour on New Year’s Day dates back to 1909 when grape growers near Valencia in the Alicante region of Spain started the tradition to make a dent in the year’s grape surplus. The practice never waned, and instead spread to Portugal and former Spanish and Portuguese colonies like Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela.

Depending on the country, the tradition calls for eating a grape for each chime of the bell, while either making a wish for each month or savoring the grape and its psychic powers. Is the fourth grape a little sour? April may not be a good month for you. And while most partygoers struggle to gobble down the grapes, Peruvians insist on eating one more, a thirteenth, for good measure.

For award-winning chef Anthony Lamas, owner of Seviche in Louisville, Kentucky, chomping down on grapes is no joke. Lamas, who grew up working at his family’s Spanish restaurant, remembers grapes being a holiday staple.

"My family always had nuts in bowls, smoked oysters on crackers, and cheese platters with lots of grapes when I was a child," Lamas said.  Now, Lamas makes grapes a star at his New Year’s table.

"It's a tradition passed down by mama and kind of like having turkey or tamales during Thanksgiving," Lamas said. "It just comes naturally."  To help you take a bite out of the New Year, Lamas shared some of his favorite grape-ful recipes. Make one or make them all but don’t skimp on the good luck charms. You never know when you might need them.

Buen provecho!

Smoked Grape, Bacon, and Arugula Salad

• 12 split whole grapes
• 4 cups arugula
• 1/2 cup diced high quality bacon
• 1 cup Marcona almonds
• 12 raspberries
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup champagne vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 ounce orange juice
• 1 ounce honey

Get the full recipe and ingredient list.

• 4 pounds green grapes
• 1 cup water
• 2 jalapeños, split
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons low sugar pectin
• jam jars

Get the full recipe.

Grape Habanero Seviche

• 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon chopped habanero, seeds and veins removed for less heat
• 2 ounces julienned red onion
• 2 ounces rough chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 2 ounces celery leaves, chopped (leaves from 1 bunch of celery)
• 1 pound grapes, sliced in half
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salsa, fried yucca, plantains for garnish

Get the full recipe.